


A Rather Long Night

by orphan_account



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Are they friends? No idea, Enemies to Friends, Fluff, One Shot, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:08:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21535729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A rainstorm causes Gabriel to commit a small act of kindness.Set after my last story, in which Beelzebub and Gabriel are stationed on Earth to take over for Crowley and Aziraphale after the failed armageddon.
Relationships: Beelzebub & Gabriel (Good Omens)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	A Rather Long Night

Rain was something all angels adored. Water was cleansing, and angels were not adverse to purity. The sound it made as each raindrop fell onto any surface it could find soothed them, and the electric hum in the air after a crisp flash of lightning made the angelic light inside each of them shine a little brighter. 

The storm that brewed over Gabriel's flat brought with it dark, ominous clouds and raindrops the size of coins. Booming thunder followed after each bolt of lightning that lit up the central London sky. 

Grabbing his umbrella, Gabriel made for the door. He found out quickly during his station on Earth that humans weren't the biggest fans of rain. So he knew he'd be alone for the majority of his walk. But when you cared as little as Gabriel did about those around him, solitude didn't matter. 

Gabriel's walk in the rain took him through residential areas and busy shopping districts where patrons huddled together under awnings to stay dry. It took him past churches with steeples that stretched high into the gloom above. It took him through parks where the wildlife graciously soaked up the water from the storm, thirsty from the midsummer drought. 

While walking through the park, he spotted a dark figure in the distance, sitting under a tree to keep the rain off them. Gabriel was low on his monthly quota of miracles, so he figured a quick stop to help this person would make heaven happy. He was halfway across the grass and heading towards the tree before he realised who it was. 

Lord Beelzebub sat on one of the tree's roots, in a spot that looked vaguely dry, as flies buzzed sadly around them. Their wet hair was plastered to their head, and their equally soaked clothes weighed down their body like sandbags. They looked miserable, Gabriel thought as he approached them. 

Thwarting enemy plans wasn't against heaven's policy. Consorting was, obviously. But the policy said nothing about friendly interaction. Keeping that in mind, Gabriel approached the demon. He held his umbrella over their head. 

"It's a bit late for that. Don't you think?" Beelzebub said, holding up one of their sopping wet sleeves. 

"Once you're soaked, you can't get any wetter, I suppose." Gabriel held the umbrella over himself again. "What are you doing out here?" 

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I'm not soaking wet and hiding in a park," Gabriel said. When Beelzebub didn't say anything in reply, he went on. "I'm out for a walk. I love the rain. Especially when I have this nifty thing -" He twirled his umbrella around, "to keep it off my head. Your turn." 

"Well... I live here," They said. 

"Here? Like in the park?" 

"Yes. Not exactly nice when it's raining, but --" 

Gabriel cut them off. "Woah, woah, woah. You mean, you don't have a home?" He crouched down in the wet dirt beneath the tree, next to the root Beelzebub was perched on. The flies that were buzzing around retreated so they didn't fly into his face. 

"And?" Beelzebub moved back as well, their back against the tree. "You do?" 

"Yeah! The point of this mission is to blend in and behave as the humans do. People have homes. A lot of them do, at least." 

"We aren't people, Gabriel." The way they said his name made Gabriel's cheeks flush. 

"You feel miserable. Look it, too. And it doesn't look like this storm's going to pass any time soon." Gabriel baited. Beelzebub bit. 

"No. Doesn't look like it." 

"And I live close by..." 

Beelzebub raised an eyebrow, causing the corner of their mouth to quirk up too. "Do you, now?" 

"It's warm there. Dry." Gabriel paused. Was he really going to invite a demon into his home? He sighed in resignation. Of course he was. "You could stay until the storm's over." 

Beelzebub's face took on an unreadable expression, but it slowly morphed into a tiny smile. "Sure." 

With that, the two of them walked through the park, both under Gabriel's umbrella. Beelzebub made a point to splash in every puddle they saw, coating Gabriel's freshly dry cleaned pants in dirty rain water. He didn't like it, sure, but the snorting sound of laughter Beelzebub made whenever Gabriel tried to complain made dirtying his clothes worth it. 

Back at his flat, Gabriel made Beelzebub stand on a towel by the front door while he ran and got a change of clothes and a towel for them. They both knew that they could've miracled themselves dry and went their seperate ways, but they'd been instructed by their posts to 'do things the human way' while on Earth. Neither of them liked to break the rules more than necessary. 

Gabriel set a pair of black joggers he used for working out and a white button up shirt into the demon's shaking hands. "You're cold," He said. "I'll start a fire." 

Gabriel's apartment was nice, but what most humans would call 'minimalist'. It had the bare necessities - the most expensive bare necessities, none the less - and everything was placed just right to make the small space look bigger than it actually was. It was immaculately clean. It barely looked lived in. 

Beelzebub took a moment to think. What was sadder? Not having a house to live in or having one, but not living in it? 

Gabriel started up the fireplace and kept his back turned while Beelzebub changed their clothes. They left the soaked ones in a heap on the floor and sat down in front of the fire. 

"This should... warm you up." Gabriel was staring. His clothes were obviously too big for Beelzebub, but instead of looking ridiculous, they almost looked kind of adorable. The fabric hung off them where it would normally sit perfectly on Gabriel. He didn't know what to do with himself for a moment, but finally, he turned and looked at the crackling fire. 

That was the only sound between them until Beelzebub's soaked hair was dry and they'd stopped shivering. The rain still pounded the windows and every now and then a flash of lightning would illuminate the dark room, mingling with the light of the fireplace. 

"Looks like that rain isn't stopping." Gabriel pointed out the obvious. 

"You sure like to talk about the weather," Beelzebub said. 

Before he knew what he was doing, Gabriel blurted out, "would you like to spend the night?" When Beelzebub narrowed their eyes at him, he explained himself. "You can take the couch over there. It'll be warm and dry and softer than a park bench." 

An indulgent look crossed Beelzebub's face. "Well, that does sound nice." 

"It's settled, then. I'll get you some blankets." Gabriel got up and scrambled to his room. 

He had one blanket and one pillow. He didn't see the need for more. He couldn't let the demon sleep out on the couch with no blanket, so he brought them both out. 

Once the couch was all made up, Beelzebub moved away from the fire and sat down on it. "Never stayed in someone's house before." 

"Never had a house to have anyone stay in," Gabriel replied. "In heaven, we just sort of have offices. No one sleeps. No one lays down a whole lot." 

"Same here. I spent centuries in that stupid office. And centuries before that in a cubicle." 

Gabriel had to laugh. "A cubicle? You?" He sat down on the couch before he even knew what he was doing. 

"Wasn't always a Prince of Hell. We've got a hierarchy down there. Takes work to climb the ranks." Beelzebub found themself moving closer. 

"Archangel is just something you're... born into. You are or you aren't." For the first time since he came to Earth, he acknowledged that he and Beelzebub were on different sides, but didn't alienate them because of it. 

"Like the caste system." 

"Your lot invented that?" 

"No. That was the humans." Beelzebub shrugged and rested their hand in the space between them on the couch. It took every ounce of self control Gabriel had to not reach out and hold it. 

Apparently, Gabriel didn't have much, because that's exactly what he did. Beelzebub didn't even seem to notice as their fingers laced together and rested comfortably between them. 

"You know... I'm starting to like Earth." Gabriel broke the silence. 

"That so?" 

"Yeah. I hated it at first, but there are just certain human traditions and quirks that they simply don't have in Heaven. Not sure why. They're really quite nice." 

"Like what?" Beelzebub asked. 

"Well, this for one." He gestured between them. "Small talk." Holding hands, he wanted to add. Sharing clothes. 

"Yeah. It's all business in Hell, too. It's exhausting." 

"There are other things, too." Gabriel could feel his corporation's heartrate pick up significantly. His face felt hot. He wondered if it looked red to Beelzebub. If it did, they said nothing. 

"Oh? Like what?" 

"Can I show you?" Gabriel's voice sounded foreign to him. Lost all its edges. 

"Alright." Beelzebub nodded and shrugged, looking up at Gabriel with their hair shielding their eyes. Gabriel knew exactly where to start. 

In one fluid motion, he moved forward and reached his arm out, brushing Beelzebub's bangs away from their forehead and behind their ear. When the demon didn't cringe away, he kept going. 

Now they were close enough that their knees were touching. Gabriel let his hand fall down to Beelzebub's shoulder, trailing across their face and neck first. Then he closed his eyes and leant in. Their lips connected for only a second, then he pulled away. 

"What else?" Beelzebub asked breathlessly. 

"Well," Gabriel said. "If you want me to show you all of them, it's going to be a rather long night."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you liked it, consider reading my other works or leaving kudos! :)


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